'No direct link' between arrested man and Al-Hilli murders

Investigation continues into shooting murders of four people in French Alps in September 2012

The car that Saad Al-Hilli, his wife and mother-in-law were all murdered in

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A former police officer who was arrested in France on Tuesday will not be charged in connection with the Al-Hilli murders.

The 48-year-old man was held as part of the long-running probe into the September 2012 killings.

Claygate resident Saad Al-Hilli, his wife Ikbal, her mother Suhaila al-Alllaf and French cyclist Sylvain Mollier were all found shot dead on a remote forest road in Chevaline, near Annecy.

French prosecutor Eric Maillaud said on Friday that the man had been released from custody after investigators found "no direct link" between him and the Alps murders.

He said: "The searches and interviews of the last three days have not enabled us to establish a direct link between the events of 5 September 2012 and this man, a war weapons enthusiast, who looked very like the e-fit released on 4 November 2013, and who was near to the place where the incident took place when it happened.

"The weapon used in the crime has not been found, neither has the helmet which featured in the e-fit, nor the motorbike described by several witnesses which investigators were looking for. The investigation continues."

Mr Maillaud added: "However, the man will be taken into custody, overseen by the public prosecutor's office in Annecy, in connection with illicit trading in wartime weapons and ammunition found during searches by investigators, this illicit activity being carried out as part of an organised gang."

A second man was also arrested earlier this week in connection with the alleged arms trading and he remains in custody.